Latest Articles about The Caucasus
Moscow Enters Armenian Language Controversy
Moscow has expressed its disapproval of a public uproar in Armenia against a government bill allowing the existence of private schools where the main language of instruction is not Armenian. Visiting Yerevan in mid-November, a senior Russian parliamentarian warned there is a sense in Moscow... MORE
Circassians Step Up Their Activity as Georgian Politicians Consider Olympic Boycott
On November 19-21 in Tbilisi, Georgia, the Jamestown Foundation and Ilia State University held the second conference in the series on the volatile history and present of the North Caucasus. Part of the conference was dedicated to the issue of the Circassian “genocide,” that produced... MORE
Dagestani Leadership Unable to Control Situation in Republic
Rebels from the Makhachkala sector of Dagestan’s Shariat Jamaat belatedly marked Russian Police Day, November 10, with a major attack in the republic’s capital, Makhachkala. The attack, which took place in downtown Makhachkala the following day, November 11, turned out to be one of the... MORE
Violence in Dagestan Shows No Sign of Letting Up
Violence continued in Dagestan over the last several days, following the militant attacks in the republican capital of Makhachkala on November 11, in which eleven people – seven policemen and four militants – were killed.Unidentified attackers fired grenade launchers early today (November 19) at a... MORE
Additional Buildup of Military Forces in Dagestan Proceeds with Caution
On November 14, Russian Deputy Interior Minister, Nikolai Rogozhkin, who is commander of the ministry’s internal troops, announced the first native Dagestani military detachment formation. The new unit is comprised of 300 people and eventually will grow to 700 servicemen. Rogozhkin concisely expressed Moscow’s hopes:... MORE
Moscow’s Approach to the North Caucasus Looks Increasingly Deluded
Russian Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliev had to admit recently that 454 terrorist acts and 510 offenses of extremist nature were committed in Russia in the first nine months of 2010. It would have been odd if the minister had blamed the Russian authorities for the... MORE
Kremlin Plan for Resettling Unemployed Ingush in Sverdlovsk Falters
Ingush settlers who come to Russia’s Sverdlovsk region, located in the Ural mountains, in search of work have found little employment and government support. “From the very beginning, this widely advertised [Ingush resettlement] program was doomed to failure,” the former representative of Ingushetia in Sverdlovsk... MORE
2010 Census Data is Adjusted to Meet Kremlin Priorities in the North Caucasus
On November 9, the Kavkazsky Uzel (Caucasian Knot) website reported the Russian statistical service’s intention to double check the October 2010 census results for Chechnya and Ingushetia. The process will take place hundreds of miles away in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and is projected... MORE
Militants Target Dagestani Law Enforcement Personnel in Republic Capital
Unidentified attackers shot up the home of a policeman in the village of Sergokala in Dagestan’s Sergokalinsky district late yesterday (November 11). The gunmen fired automatic weapons but no one was hurt in the incident, which capped a particularly violent day in Dagestan, with eleven... MORE
Dagestan Leader Follows Steps of Kadyrov
Actions taken recently by the local leadership in Dagestan have become increasingly reminiscent of the policy carried out by Ramzan Kadyrov, the pro-Russian leader of Chechnya. Shortly after an all-Chechen congress was held in the Chechen capital of Grozny from October 13-14, the Dagestani authorities... MORE